The Young Lion

After Aldridge announced the list of transfer players, the scene was fried.

The reporters raised their hands to ask questions.

The focus of the question is two: How is Millwall's transfer income spent? Who will fill the vacancies left by these five players?

Aldridge looked calm and calm, but he didn't have the kind of grievances after being robbed of nearly half of the team's main force, as if the sky had fallen.

"We got a lot of transfer income through the departure of these players, part of the money will be invested in the operating costs of the club, part of it will be used to pay off the debt of the new stadium, part of the budget for the summer transfer recruitment, the rest, We will build a new youth football academy next to Leo Training Base."

In the past, the youth team stayed at the youth training base, which was specially trained. Now Millwall wants to create a more comprehensive youth football academy to provide a more humane environment for young players from all over the world, helping them not only play football Grow, but also provide guidance for them when they cannot become professional players.

Last year, the Leo training base was expanded, the first team moved into it, and the youth team expanded the echelon. The growth over the same period made the youth team’s space smaller than before. Aldrich’s construction of a new youth football academy is based on actual development needs. The plan made.

Reporters are more concerned about Millwall's lineup next season.

"As the Champions League champion last season, Millwall has released at least four main players in the new season. Although there is sufficient capital income, is the team's competitiveness next season worrying?"

Aldrich said: "After these five players left, it was a fact that Millwall's strength has declined, but I don't think the team fell into **** from heaven, and Shevchenko and Trezeguet, but we have enough talent reserves to replace them. Fanny’s performance last season proved that he can take the place of Trezeguet. Ronaldinho will also get more opportunities. We There are also Duff, Van der Mead, Glenn Charles, Good Johnson, including Klose who joined the team last season to adapt to the English football season. At the very least, I don’t worry about the forward, and the defender online, Materazzi can completely replace Elgra. If Zambrotta was not affected by injury last season, he may have been the main left back of the team. The only thing worth worrying about is the team's bench depth. Of course, as I have It is said that Millwall has a rich talent reserve, and we have vigorously invested in the construction of youth training for many years. Of course, I hope that the young men of the youth team can enter the first team after reaching a certain level of strength and become a part of the team’s southern expedition.

After listening to Aldridge, the reporters at the scene bowed their heads and pondered.

At first glance, Millwall sold five important players, as if it were a very cruel reality.

But when I think about it, it seems that there are enough substitutes in every position.

Fanny picks Trezeguet.

Ronaldinho picks Shevchenko.

Materazzi picked Elgra.

Zambrotta picks up Capdevila.

Barak was originally competing with Pirlo for the main position, and the main frame of the three midfielders did not move.

As Aldridge said, Millwall's team strength has declined slightly in the new season, but it is definitely not a sharp decline. The only thing worrying is the depth of the bench.

"Then, according to your statement, will Millwall make a big move in the summer? I mean buy direct strength players to add to the first team."

The reporters probably think the same. According to Aldridge’s style over the past few years, Millwall fans may be in tears again this summer.

Expecting the team to buy big-name stars to boost morale is probably not realistic.

Aldridge is now the Champions League Champion. His level has improved a lot. He may have worried about buying a famous star before. Now, he doesn’t worry about this at all, but he has a talent pool and can’t spend the money. Go gamble.

"No, our recruitment work is in progress. I want to emphasize that Millwall is a rational club. We will not recruit for the purpose of recruitment. We will only make decisions for the club's reality."

After the news conference, the news published on Fleet Street the next day caused a sensation.

Five Millwall stars each have their own future!

Fans of Mad Lions responded relatively flatly. The experience of the past few years tells them: Millwall doesn't care which player comes, nor who walks, as long as there is one person who hasn't changed, that person is Aldridge.

It's not so much numbness as it is fans' absolute trust in Aldridge.

"The Times" column reporter David Miller published an article: The second generation of mad lions is in the ascendant.

With the win of the Premier League and the Champions League as the hallmarks, Millwall has created the first generation of mad lions in Europe in the past four years.

After announcing the transfer of five team players and the absolute departure of last year’s league champion Stam, early departure, half of the main lineup of the first generation of crazy lions has taken off the dark blue jersey.

After a huge success, it is normal for some players to choose to leave, and in order to continue the glory, the time for the Aldridge to test Aldrich is coming. From the summer of 98, he will start to build the second generation Crazy Lions, although we will still see iconic characters like Larson, Nedved, Southgate, the whole team will inevitably change greatly, and the composition of different players will inevitably require Aldridge Tactical transformation, although it will not be an earth-shaking change, but if it remains unchanged, I am afraid that it is difficult to replicate the miracle of the Champions League in 1998. Therefore, the fans of the Lions can expect the growth of the second generation of Lions, Millwall’s competitors It is necessary to seize the opportunity during this period, otherwise, once Hall’s team becomes extremely powerful again, Hall will prove his nickname with action: trophy harvester!

Aldridge's work before the new season officially kicked off. He first had to see off some people, not players but coaches.

Benítez is going back to Spain. Torop was formerly a Belgian player. Ajax took the spotlight. Unfortunately, he did not play in Ajax and turned into a coach. Tolop, 30, is a Mill. The first team of Wall’s coaching staff, Millwall’s success, also has his credit. At the same time, the Belgian Second League club Saint Tourden sent him an invitation. Tolop was given sufficient time and a long-term contract by the promise of the opponent’s boss. In the case of, submitted a resignation to Aldridge.

In Sand’s bar, Aldridge and the coaching staff practiced here for Benitez and Torop. All night, they remembered the hard work of the past together, and also enjoyed the joy of success after all. The drunken couple spent the night in the bar.

Millwall directly entered into a termination agreement with Tolopda and Benitez, allowing them to leave freely, avoiding the new owners paying for their contracts and incurring a fee, which would have been little money.

At the same time, Tolop brought back his experience of studying and summing up in Millwall to Belgium. He wanted to implement a new management model and construction plan at the St. Tourden club. Although the club there was a little simpler, Tolop was full of energy. , He lends players to Millwall, Aldridge suppresses the loan application, and does not want to lend players of age to the past, because the level is too low than B, Millwall youth team like Paulson, Cahill, etc. The 18-year-old youth players have limited improvement when they go there.

Millwall is now much easier to do the signing work than before.

In the past, I came to ask for players to join. Now, not only has the team level been improved, but the aura above Aldrich's head is also shining.

Especially for young players, Millwall is even more attractive than world-class giants!

The reason is very simple, go to the giants, the space is almost zero.

But Millwall is different. Aldridge vigorously promotes young players, daring to use them and using them well. This is evidenced by the record.

Among the 14 players who made the top of the Champions League, Millwall made his debut. In addition to being young, he was more unknown before coming to the team, but he became the European champion under Audridge!

The signing process has become easier. Aldrich does not need to come in person. As long as he makes a phone call, young players are basically willing to come to Millwall. Even if there is no guarantee that they will be able to start in Millwall in the future, they will receive training here. It can at least become a good player.

In addition to Millwall itself, Moyes has also become Millwall's advertising promoters!

Moyes, who took over Preston midway last season, was amazing. When he took over the team, the team ranked in the relegation zone. At the end of the season, he led the team to the playoff finals, and finally led the team to defeat the opponent to upgrade success.

Although he was only promoted from the British Second Division to the First Division, his attention was enough. Among them, the four players he loaned from Millwall contributed to the team’s contribution, Robinson, Cahill, Bresiano, Fei Leila, the performance of these four players in Preston also quickly attracted the attention of other teams. The outside world believes that this is a reflection of Millwall's youth training, plus the top value of the players they sold before. The sign of Millwall's youth training has been deeply rooted in the hearts of the people, with a good reputation.

In the summer of 1998, the Millwall youth team continued to recruit and buy horses. In the local area, the youth team introduced 17-year-old Crouch, London locals to try out 14-year-old Darren Bent, 16-year-old Jermaine Defoe The 17-year-old goalkeeper Chris Kirkland signed Kevin Nolan at the age of 16, Matthew Taylor at the age of 16, and Lescott at the age of 16 before signing a professional contract in Birmingham.

Following last year's youth team recruiting 8 potential local English small players, Millwall again introduced 7 local potential rookies this season.

Of course, this is the list in Aldridge's mind. In fact, they recruited nearly 20 English players, but others have not been very popular in the future history or may not even set foot in the top league.

The Millwall Summer Reserve also sold a lot of players. The names of those players were not loud, but they were favored by the teams in the First Division. A total of six players provided Millwall with nearly 3 million pounds of income.

This is a virtuous cycle. Mediocre players play football with most excellent players. As long as they are aggressive, at least the achievements are higher than playing with a group of mediocre players.

After the recruitment of youth teams in England ended, Aldridge turned his attention to other European countries.

This year he did not plan to go out and wander around, but let the club staff go to activities. If necessary, he would personally communicate with the players by phone.

Because he is busy with the team's trip to Asia for the new season.